The ECenter is the co-curricular heart of ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship at UNH. Our goal is to create the next generation of leaders with an entrepreneurial mind-set who can see opportunities and identify creative solutions others have missed, one idea at a time. Although part of UNH, we are independent of any one college.

From left to right: Jerry Howard (moderator), Mark Lane '90, Dane Neilsen '08, and Emily Stearns

The ECenter is lucky to work with so many dedicated and passionate students. Brandon Smith '18 (CEPS alumnus and current graduate student) is one of the people responsible for bringing the Makerspace at the ECenter to life. His enthusiasm for helping others to innovate and create is inspiring. Brandon recently connected with Hailley Simpson '22 (Paul College), ECenter intern extraordinaire, to chat about his experience with entrepreneurship at UNH.

Tell us about yourself, Brandon!

I recently graduated with my bachelors in Computer Science from UNH and have started my graduate degree in the same field. I originally grew up in Rutland, MA, but have been here in NH since 2013. During my time here in New Hampshire, I have been working as a software engineer at the UNH Interoperability Laboratory (IOL), built a startup company called Pathlete that managed to win third place in the 2018 Holloway Prize Competition, and founded the Makerspace at the ECenter for the sole purpose of teaching innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Pathlete was an online athletic recruitment platform that used machine learning to find the athletes that were the best fit for a coach’s team and to provide high school athletes with recruitment opportunities across the country. Under the coaching of the ECenter, I ran a team of ten student developers for Pathlete, while working at the lab, running the Makerspace, and finishing my bachelors in CS. Today I continue to work at the lab, run the Makerspace as the Chair of the Board of Directors, and focus on the world of real-time distributed systems for my graduate degree.

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

Pathlete started as an idea from a friend of mine, and I decided it would be interesting to work on a startup while in college. There was no defining moment where I told myself that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. It was more of a realization after working on a company for three years of what being an entrepreneur really means. Entrepreneurship forms from not only a desire to come up with an interesting idea that will make you money, but a passion to improve the well-being of society that drives you through the execution of the idea.

Who has been the biggest influence in your work and life? 

It’s hard to pinpoint the single biggest influence in my life, since it’s really been a team effort between my family, my friends, my coworkers, my mentors, and everyone else that’s been involved with what I do. When you get involved with things you meet lots of new and interesting people, each of whom help shape who you are. I’m doing what I do today because of the people I’ve met and the opportunities they’ve given me.

What advice would you give to an entrepreneur that is just starting out?

Become good at the things you enjoy and use it to your advantage - and if you don’t know what you’re good at, go out and try to do new things. The greater you grow your skillset, the higher the likelihood an opportunity will present itself. Take the chance to join organizations, find mentors to learn from, get involved in something you normally wouldn’t associate yourself with. I became one of the founding members of the Makerspace because I decided to join the programmable micro-controller club, which turned into TechX (a club focused on innovation in technology), which allowed me to meet the the people who were fighting for open access to and training for the machine shops in Kingsbury. Pathlete formed because we all witnessed the inefficiencies of the world of athletic recruitment. Ideas don’t suddenly pop into your head, they’re formed by existing knowledge and experience. Almost all of the startups I’ve seen come out of UNH (and elsewhere) formed because they wanted to solve a problem they previously encountered. The problems you’ll solve best as an entrepreneur are the ones you find through experience, and the best way to build experience is by getting involved in new things.

Tell us about your current project.

Currently I’m continuing my work of running the Makerspace, working at the Interoperability Laboratory, and focusing my graduate degree on the career path I want to follow when I graduate.

What inspires you to innovate?

I'm inspired to innovate because I want to contribute in some meaningful way, shape, or form to the advancement of our society and the human race. As part of that desire, I want others to have the same inspiration. The team of ten developers we took on for Pathlete were other CS and IT students interested in contributing to a startup for their senior project. Regardless of the outcome of Pathlete after graduation, I wanted to give other students a chance to learn industry-level technologies that were not taught in the classroom. I wanted to demonstrate that you don’t have to be a prodigy to contribute to something with purpose. I run the Makerspace because I want to take down the barriers that block innovation by providing freely available training and resources that enable it. My inspiration to innovate comes from the excitement and energy of other people who actively seek innovation themselves.

The ECenter is  seeking nominations  for its second inductee class into the Alumni Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. Established with a gift from an anonymous donor, the Hall of Fame recognized its first members in the fall of 2018. The deadline to nominate for the 2019 award is August 1, 2019. Self-nominations are encouraged!

“More than 10,000 UNH alumni have founded, co-founded, or run their own companies,” said Ian Grant, Executive Director of the ECenter. “This gift allows us to celebrate the innovation and entrepreneurship that has been in the DNA of UNH students and alumni since the beginning. In addition, this inspires students to see what is possible when you have an idea and take the steps to move it forward into a successful venture.”

The award recognizes a graduate who has achieved entrepreneurial success with ventures they have founded, co-founded, or own and who have given back to the community in a meaningful way.

To learn more and to nominate a UNH alum to the Hall of Fame,   visit our website .

Christin Badylak-Reals (l) and Jessica Lavallee (r)

A special shout out and congratulations to Christin Badylak-Reals '19 and Jessica Lavallee '19 for being named semi-finalists in Smith College's national Draper Competition for Collegiate Women Entrepreneurs for their idea, VELV. Christin and Jessica are the first UNH team to ever make it to the semi-finals of the Draper Competition! They receive idea coaching from the ECenter's Ian Grant.

VELV is a dating platform that provides peace of mind during a first date. VELV's mobile dating application integrates wearable technology, location tracking, and in-app video chat to create a sense of safety on the first date.

As Christin and Jessica say, "VELV is more than a dating app, it’s a movement." Congratulations to you both!

The ECenter might be the best little-known resource for international students looking to expand their experiential learning opportunities. The coaching, mentoring, and programmatic support the ECenter provides for students to pursue real-world ideas outside the classroom can be utilized by international students just as they are by American students.

With employment opportunities for international students tightly regulated by visa status, the funding support offered by the ECenter can be a welcome addition to on-campus employment. The ECenter’s innovative i2 Passport Program encourages students to participate in programming related to idea development and entrepreneurship for a chance to win cash that can be used toward tuition costs and student loan debt. One of this year’s front runners is international student Arsalan Khan ’19 (Paul College). In addition to being highly engaged in i2 Passport, Arsalan is also the co-president of the student-run UNH Entrepreneurship Club, which calls the ECenter home.

Arseniy Shapovalov (l) enjoys Boston and his new colleagues during his internship with Cuseum

Financial support for international students through the ECenter is not limited to i2 Passport. The Paid Internship at Start-Ups Program, generously sponsored by Harry Patten ’58 and the Patten Family Foundation, has helped place three international students in internship roles for real-world experience at start-ups over the last three years. Sriyaa Shah ’18 (College of Liberal Arts) and Arseniy Shapovalov ’19 (Paul College) both gained experience at Cuseum, while Josefina Ondo ’18 (Paul College) explored a start-up career at Mayflower Venues, Inc. Siddharth “Sid” Nigam ’16 (CEPS) took another route and applied for the ECenter’s Summer Seed Grant program, sponsored by Pierce Atwood LLP. Sid was awarded funds to develop an idea with his team over the summer in place of an internship or job, and worked with an advisor at the ECenter to push his concept forward.

In addition to programming and employment support, the ECenter is, simply, a unique and inclusive place for international students to connect and engage with other highly motivated, curious individuals in a supportive community. Between collaborating with teams at all-night hackathons, engaging with a mentor to further an idea, participating in one-on-one coaching support for competitions like the Holloway Prize and Social Venture Innovation Challenge, or using the Makerspace for projects ranging from laser-cutting specialized petri dish holders, to designing vinyl stickers, to 3D printing dinosaurs, the ECenter is a thriving, energetic environment built as a platform for students to find and explore their passions.

The next time you’re downtown getting a coffee at Saxby’s or munching on fries at Hop + Grind, stop by the ECenter and you’ll probably run into a number of familiar faces from UNH’s international community. If you’ve always been curious about using a 3D printer, visit the Makerspace, where Nadia Fereydooni ’19 (CEPS) and Kimia Fereydooni ’20 (CEPS), Makerspace student mentors, will guide you through the process step by step. Or stop in for some complimentary nitro cold-brew coffee in the Cube ^x Coworking Space, and see what it’s all about.

The wide variety of programs offered by the ECenter are made possible by generous donors and corporate sponsors who believe in the importance of helping students gain experience in and exposure to ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

We have recently finalized our official Corporate Sponsorship Program to help us to continue to grow programs at the ECenter and increase the impact we are having on students. If you or your company is interested in learning more or supporting a program, please contact ECenter Executive Director Ian Grant at Ian.Grant@unh.edu. Thank you!

The first, second, and third place teams of Hack NH 2019.

The ECenter was excited to co-host Hack NH with the UNH Interoperability Lab (IOL) over 24 hours on February 16th and 17th. The focus of the hackathon was problem-solving to make New Hampshire safer or more sustainable. Ten interdisciplinary teams of students took to the challenge instantly, impressing the judges from the IOL, Liberty Mutual, Bottomline Technologies, and Arista Networks. Each team was judged on technical innovation, creativity, uniqueness, usefulness, and presentation. This is where the cross-disciplinary strengths came into play; for example, one team had students in computer science, computer engineering, marketing, and business, which helped them divide and conquer both the presentation and the project.

“It was great working with other students that I wouldn’t normally interact with since most of us are in different majors — not even similar fields,” said Jessica Nelson, ‘21, a  business administration major. Nelson was a member of Eco Salt, which took first place at Hack NH. The team used a Google and OnWater application programming interface (API) to create a mobile app that would notify plow and salt drivers of low-salt areas.

Second place team, UShield, designed an app that allowed students to order a “buddy” when walking home or across campus late at night. The third place team, CertiForce, came up with an idea for making the process of becoming a B Corps easier for NH companies.

Thank you to sponsors Liberty Mutual, Bottomline Technologies, and Arista Networks for making Hack NH possible!

Ian Grant

Executive Director

Ian.Grant@unh.edu

(603) 862-5470

Heather MacNeill

Program Manager

Heather.MacNeill@unh.edu

(603) 862-4959

Allison Bell

Associate Program Manager

Allison.Bell@unh.edu

(603) 862-0349